Saucon Valley takes down Hughesville in state duals

The senior wins a major decision over state runner-up Kyle Barnes as his team advances to Hershey.

February 04, 2013|By Nick Fierro, Of The Morning Call

The only downside to the 100th and greatest victory of senior Travis Buddock's wrestling career was that it didn't happen in Hershey, where all PIAA state team tournament matches should be held, if Saucon Valley coach Chad Shirk had his way.

Still, Shirk, Buddock and the rest of the Panthers couldn't have been happier after their 51-16 demolition of Hughesville in the Class 2A first round at Whitehall High School included Buddock's 14-5 major decision over defending state runner-up Kyle Barnes at 152 pounds.

Buddock surprisingly dominated the bout after giving up the first takedown, and Barnes visibly grew more frustrated with each failed move.

Buddock only had one takedown himself but added a reversal and turned Barnes on his back three times, including a five-point move with a Peterson Roll that left him with an 11-2 advantage heading into the third period.

"I didn't really know what he was good at and things like that," Buddock said. "But I'm a pretty good scrambler myself. So I knew if he was going to come out there and just continue to move, I had to do the same, and I knew that I could keep up."

Buddock's approach pleased his coach maybe even more than the result.

"Most kids, when they're wrestling a state runner-up, shut it down and try to keep it close," Shirk said, "but Buddock went after him, and as a coach, you've got to love seeing that."

"I was a little nervous because I knew how good the kid was," Buddock said, "but me personally, I enjoy wrestling [those] harder kids. It makes me go out there and wrestle that much harder from the start."

Barnes was so agitated by the end of the bout that he had hostile words for Buddock during — and after — the postmatch handshake. Buddock, who was playing to the roaring Saucon Valley contingent that also knew it was his 100th victory, did not appear to notice.

Saucon Valley will next face district champion Reynolds at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday.

Buddock's win wasn't the only highlight. Brody Bisson pinned Eric Hiller at 138, and Sam Dickey was a 7-2 winner at 170 over Robert White, who came in with a 23-5 mark.

Everyone else seemingly took care of business with maximum effort and maximum results, with Bryan Israel (120), Will Jusino (132) and Justin Blobe (195) leading the way with pins.

A different venue was the only thing that could have made the Panthers' victory sweeter.

"I actually think that every team that qualifies for the state [tournament] ... should be able to go to Hershey," Shirk said, "because that's something that they'll never forget and they'll take with them for the rest of their lives."

Saucon's last trip to Hershey (which was also its first) for the team duals happened in 2010, which means the current seniors have come full circle.

"We can enjoy it tonight," Shirk said, "but we have Reynolds ready for us, and obviously they're a traditional state powerhouse. So we've got to go back to the drawing board. We still made a lot of mistakes and we've got to fine tune some little things."